Monday, January 27, 2014

Bicycle Lanes in Tartu

The last decade has seen a number of dedicated bike lanes built in and around Tartu. Unfortunately, their functionality is rather limited. Below I explain why.
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There are different cyclists. In the one end we have slow local riders like children but also adults pedaling only a few blocks. At the opposite end are regular fast commuters who move distances around 10km. (I ignore bicycle racing and related issues here.) Below, I explain what are the main problems with the existing lanes, in particular for the commuter group.

Junction of large roads as it ought to be: Nordre Ringgade crossing Nørrebrogade in Aarhus, DK. The bike lane is just at left of the photographer, the markings are visible on street. Note the lane is straight, and there are no curbstones.

First, the bicycle lanes should be straight. The lane should be free of pylons, traffic lights but also pedestrians, and avoid unnecessary sharp turns. In my opinion, this is the most problematic side of the current lanes. All too often they are bent away from the street at junctions, and the bend typically includes a combination of a sharp turn, high curbstones and a
guardrail. Hence one cannot cycle at typical speed for faster riders, 20-30 km/h, even along the major thoroughfares (like Võru street or Räpina road).

This is how it
works in Tartu. The guardrail works as a barrier and does not allow
unhindered cycling. But note the ongoing construction further
down—the bend on the car lane is being smoothed out. Junction of
Tartu-Ülenurme road and Kuslapuu street (right).

Note that one almost never encounters such obstacles on car lanes. It is also a safety issue, making cyclists less visible and rendering the right-of-way unclear. Similarly, the existing cycle lanes almost never allow full-speed entry and exit. Fast riders, notably out-of-town, cannot take sharp turns. Hence the short dedicated tracks are seldom usable—the tiny gain in safety does not justify a large loss in speed.

Junction of
large roads done wrong. This is right-turn-lane of Aardla street
joining one of the main thoroughfares, Võru street just ahead of us.
Note that just on this picture, cyclists are supposed to cross two
curbstones and take a 90-degree turn on a rather narrow lane. The only
way to cross this junction at typical bike speed is to stay away from
the bike lane.

Unfortunately, I have not experienced any improvement here over the years. Even the newest tracks, like the one along the Räpina road, expect too much maneuvering and yielding from the cyclist. Note that straightness is less of an issue for slow-speed local riders. Hence the current quality of the track network may well cater for that group.

Second, the lanes should be direct and broadly follow the shortest path between the main destinations. This is often a thorny issue as the shortest paths are typically occupied by large streets. For instance, neither Riia, Narva nor Võru streets have any dedicated cycle lanes despite offering direct access between large stretches of the city, and being often considered too dangerous for biking. The suggested alternatives, Kesk street next to Võru and the way over Näituse street to reach Maarjamõisa hospitals, are substantially longer. Directness matters for everyone, despite their distance and speed.

Third big issue is evenness. Even street surface is a must. The most problematic point here are the curbstones, but also the overall profile of the lanes. A high-quality bike lane should not have any curbstones in the first place. Second, the surface profile should be smooth enough. If certain sections must be lower (for instance, to facilitate driving across the sidewalk), one should smoothly lower the lane level along a longer stretch.

Junction of a
major thoroughfare, Võru street with a sidestreet. Note three problems
here: the surface is not smooth enough even given sunken curbstones; the curbstones
on the street side cannot be crossed at all, essentially cutting the
width by a third; and finally the profile is too steep even behind the
curbstone.

Finally, particularly on the older roads, the quality of pavement is also an issue. Fortunately, here a clear improvement is visible over years. Evenness matters more for fast riders, but the curbstones also hurt the slow ones with small wheels, like children.

The final issue is the lane width. In general, the lane should permit for two cyclists to ride next to each other. This is especially important with children (the parents want to "cover" the street side), or for overtaking slower cyclists. True, such 1.5-2m wide lanes are not feasible everywhere. But one should avoid unnecessary bottlenecks. Far too often the guardrails, traffic lights, and improperly installed curbstones narrow down otherwise adequate lane.

Bus stop done well. Nordre Ringgade, Aarhus, DK.

Bus stop not done well. It expects too much maneuvering in a narrow section of the bike lane. One of the main thoroughfares in Tartu, Võru street.

A specific problem is posed by bus stops. These are frequently located at a particularly narrow section of combined sidewalk/cycle lane where the shed and waiting people also take up space. Bus stops require extra wide, not extra narrow lanes. Inadequate width hurts more the fast riders.

Nordre Ringgade crossing Aldersrovej near Trøjborgcenteret. All done well: no curbstones, the cycle lane retains it's width, and the profile is smooth.

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Virtually none of the existing cycle lanes around Tartu follow these standards. The quality has been improving from the perspective of slow riders but for long-distance cyclists the lanes are simply inadequate. Realistically, I would recommend the planners the following:

Rename the current cycle lanes to "cycling-enabled sidewalks". Permit cycling there given one does not endanger pedestrians. For faster riders, permit cycling on the car lanes as well.

Understand the different types of traffic. Lanes for slow-speed riders need not to follow the same standards as high-speed thoroughfares. Think what kind of traffic is dominating on certain streets.

Most importantly, before designing the next traffic project, learn about the capabilities and requirements of cyclists! Bike lanes are costly, and if not constructed properly, they may be more of a hindrance than help for cyclists.